Oregon State's remodeled Valley Football Center, a $42M project that is taking shape at the north end of Reser Stadium, will include a "massive locker room, coaches' offices, players lounge and new 'Terrace' seating" that "will be ready for the home opener Sept. 17 vs. Idaho State," according to James Day of the Corvallis GAZETTE-TIMES. Meanwhile, the OSU Football HOF and north entrance "should debut in December, with the final pieces ready by" February. The new locker room, which is 53 yards wide, the same as a football field, has "hot and cold tubs, a huge sauna and occupies three times the space of its predecessor." OSU RB Ryan Nall said, "This definitely will help us in the recruiting process. You’ve got to step it up because everybody else is. A lot of teams in the Pac-12 have done renovations just like we did." The VFC project, which is being "paid for entirely by donors, is part of a massive reboot of OSU’s athletic facilities." OSU AD Todd Stansbury said, "There are always going to be some programs that can do things we can’t. As long as we are providing up-to-date practice, playing and learning spaces we are going to be in good shape" (Corvallis GAZETTE-TIMES, 8/30).
CAN GET USED TO THIS: In Lawrence, Benton Smith noted Kansas players on Sunday "got to check out the team’s refurbished locker room for the first time," which "received more than" $2M worth of upgrades, courtesy of KU football donors. A KU spokesperson said that the overhaul "isn’t quite totally complete, but the improved area will feature a new layout, redesigned lockers personalized for each player, an updated sound system and an illuminated Jayhawk on the ceiling." Adjacent to the locker room lies the "modernized players lounge, complete with a pool table, shuffleboard, foosball, air hockey, pop-a-shot, arcade games, a barber shop, cushy theater-style seats and big-screen televisions connected to video game consoles" (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD, 8/30).
